· Fireflies ·
by Kish's Kittie
Summary: Fireflies can trigger the most beautiful and amorous feelings... RxI


**_A/ N: This oneshot is the sequel to my other story, "Butterflies". Suprised I wrote it so quick? I'm not. I was just so anxious about writing it and publishing it. I just hope everyone likes it! Please enjoy and remember to... review!_**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew or the song lyrics used in this fic...**

· **Fireflies **·

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_Firefly  
Could you shine your light  
Now I know your ways  
'cause they're just like mine  
Now I'm justified  
As I fall in line  
And it's hard to try  
When you're open wide…_

"Firefly" by: Breaking Benjamin

·

"Huh… I feel so—" Ichigo sat up and rubbed her eyes, "— tired." As she finished getting the itchiness and tiredness from her eyes, she blinked and took a look around. She sat up from her laying position; she stared hard at the scene ahead of her. It was— black. "What happened? Shirogane-san was just—" Ichigo turned to take a look behind her; there was nothing.

_I must have been dreaming. _Ichigo felt her head, which seemed to be fine. Ichigo placed the palms of her hands on the rough, dryness of the grass and pushed herself up until she was standing. She felt a rather chilling breeze from the wind surpass her and made her arms tingle; the wind blew her skirt making little ruffles throughout the cotton material.

Ichigo stared out into the distance in front of her; the lake was the most beautiful scenery at the moment. The lake's waters would move back and forth from the wind, and it made it look alive. The moon's rays shined down upon its waters, and rippled through its reflection. You could see all of the moon's little craters in its reflection. Ichigo stepped forward near the edge of the lake and took in a fresh breath of the night air. It felt so cold, yet clean and refreshing.

Ichigo bent downward and pushed her weight onto her ankles while staring down into the lake's waters. She smiled a bit as she stared down at her reflection, and watched as it stared back. This visionary moment gave her a sedate feel and made her feel so cathartic. Even the most stressed person could take a moment to relax in her position…

-

_Ichigo looked all around her, but just to find that she was alone and the room felt so cold and lonely. Ichigo rubbed her arms with her warm hands to keep from freezing. It wasn't a bodily cold, but it felt as if her heart was slowly chilling in a freezer. Ichigo began to walk down the long hallway she stood in. It just seemed to be getting darker and darker, like there was no end. Ichigo began to feel aghast, and she began to run. Faster and faster each moment, she'd run. She could hear herself breathing heavily, and getting tired. Her legs began to slow down even though she kept telling them to run._

_Her legs kept slowing down until she came to a complete stop. She placed her hands on her knees and took in long, deep breaths. She looked ahead of her, and still saw black. It seemed like this hallway was never ending. Ichigo began to lose hope and frowned of moroseness. Then, a sign of light caught her eye. She looked up once more to see a door to her left. It was cracked, but open. Enormous amounts of light spilled through the crack and into the darkened hallway. Ichigo, curiously, walked over to the door and placed her hand upon the door, slowly opening it. After that, the door seemed to finish opening itself. There in the brightness of the room sat Ryou in a chair. He looked like he had been waiting for her for a long time. He stood up from his chair smiling, and walked over to Ichigo, embracing her with a tight hug._

"_I thought you were never coming back," he whispered in her ear. Ichigo stood there still a little stunned._

"_I never left." Ichigo stated quite bluntly. Ryou loosened his hold and looked into her eyes._

"_Yes you did, and you're never leaving again. I won't let you— Ichigo…"_

-

"N- YA!!!" Ichigo pulled on her pig tails, "Why do these things keep popping up in my head! I do not love Shirogane-san." Ichigo turned away from the lake and crossed her arms. She seemed to be quite angry with herself. Then, she heard a dripping noise, like something in the water was moving. Ichigo turned her head over her shoulder to get a peek. There were lightning bugs all over the lake. They flew just above the surface of the water, and flew in a circular motion. Then, Ichigo watched as a Koi fish jumped straight up out of the water and caught a firefly with its mouth. "It ate it!" Ichigo pointed accusingly.

Ichigo bent down near the waters and watched all of the little fireflies fly around. It was like watching a light show. Some of the bugs would turn off their light essence, and then others would keep theirs on. It was like some sort of Morse code. Ichigo watched in amazement as they danced above the lake and its waters…

-

_Ichigo stood in the middle of a rock cave. The rock walls were a dark magenta color that made you think they were red. You could hear sounds of water dripping from the far ends of the cave. The walls were moist, and the ground was solid. You could hear every footstep made against it._

_Ichigo stood in the center of part of the cave. She looked around her with some sort of fear overcoming her. She shivered from her thoughts of being alone and stripped open the cave with her eyes peering from every corner._

_"Hello?" she said softly. Her small voice echoed through the corridors of the cave. Ichigo took a step forward, and the tap echoed about three times before leaving. She took a few more steps until she was moving at a constant pace. Her legs shook from the cold moisture of the cave's air._

_As she walked, she could see light in front of her as she continued to walk. It was a faint light, but a light nonetheless. She continued towards it until she saw an opening into a wider and more complex room in the cave. The walls widened and the ground lowered a good twenty feet. Ichigo looked downward in amazement at the distance she could fall if she'd take a few more steps. Ichigo gulped. As she stood there, she heard a terribly loud crashing noise. She quickly looked behind her to find that the ground was quickly deteriorating. She stood there with her mouth agape. Finally, she got feeling in her legs to run, but where? She looked toward her left and saw an old, wooden bridge, but it was enough to get away from the collapsing ground._

_She ran towards the bridge and took her first few steps on it carefully. With every step the bridge grew more delicate and more facile to break. With one more of Ichigo's steps, the bridge snapped._

_"Ahhh!!!!" Ichigo grasped onto the side of the bridge as it flew to the other side of the cave. The bridge smacked onto the other wall and Ichigo lost her grip. Her eyes widened as she began to find herself falling in slow motion. Then—_

_"I've got you!"_

_There Ryou was, holding onto her tightly. He pulled Ichigo up and over the ledge. Ichigo was breathing heavily from the scare. Ichigo held her hand over her chest and caught her breath. Ryou pushed her hair back behind her ear and smiled._

_"Don't scare me ever again. Do you got that?" he pointed his finger at her. Ichigo just nodded her head, still too stunned for words. He smiled at her. "I'm glad you're alright." Ryou leaned in his face towards Ichigo's, until their noses were touching. Ichigo's face turned bright red…_

-

"Not again, nya!!!" Ichigo stomped down her foot. She clenched her fists in a ball, tight. She looked in front of her and back at the fireflies. As she watched them, her current anger seemed to float away.

One little firefly, specifically, floated over towards Ichigo while she just stared blankly at its blinking light. It softly landed on the tip of Ichigo's nose. She stared at it with her eyes crossed. It flipped back its wings, almost like it was saying hello. Ichigo couldn't help but smile at the cute little lightning bug. Ichigo crinkled her nose and watched as it climbed further up the top of her nose. It soon made its way between her eyebrows and sat there comfortably.

"Achoo!" Ichigo sneezed. The firefly swiftly flew off from her nose and onto the tip of a sliver of grass. Ichigo sniffed and rubbed her nose. It seemed to be turning red; making an inference that it was a cold. "I should be heading home soon. It's getting late…" Ichigo told herself. She stared down at the firefly. It just sat there discreetly on the piece of grass with its little blinking light. "Maybe I'll catch you and take you home." Ichigo put her hands on her hips.

Ichigo got down on the ground on her hands and knees, hovering over the lightning bug. Ichigo set her eyes on it and smirked with a sense of pre-accomplishment. She took her hands and slowly brought them together around the bug. She surrounded it with the walls of her palms. You could see it still blinking through the open parts of her fingers. She brought her face close to her hands and slightly opened them. She smiled as she saw the little bug just sitting there in her hand. Then, the bug took off in flight and landed right back on her nose. Ichigo stared at it and crossed her arms…

-

_Ichigo lay tightly tucked in, in her bed. She head felt quite warm, and she felt compelled not to move. Indolence seemed to fill her body every second she laid there. Ichigo blinked her eyes. She moved her body a little to get comfortable and just ended up coughing in return._

_"Oh…" Ichigo moaned. Her head felt hot and her body felt weak. Her legs felt sore and she didn't feel like moving at all whatsoever. She was barely able to keep her eyes open…_

_"Mom?" Ichigo barely got out. She could tell her voice sounded abnormal from the one word she was able to get out._

_Ichigo gathered up enough strength, and was able to sit up in bed. She stood up to her feet, a little wobbly at first, but she kept her balance. She walked over to her mirror to find that her forehead and nose were very red. She looked very frail and sickly. She walked over to her door and put her hand on the knob to turn it. It opened up to her normal little hallway. She was definitely at her house, but where was her mother? Ichigo walked out and looked to her right and left. No one appeared to be in sight. She walked forward and the down the steps of her home. The kitchen was fine with everything in place, as well as the living room._

_"Is anyone here?" she got out soon before a couple more coughs. Then, she felt a presence behind her. She stood there frozen in her steps. She reached her hand up to her lips and she turned. She ran right into a warm body that embraced her tightly. Her head lay gently on their chest._

_"Ichigo…" they whispered; the voice was very recognizable to Ichigo._

_"Shirogane-san?" Ichigo looked up, and surely enough, there stood Ryou staring right back. He gently stroked her cheek with his hand._

_"You're still warm. Maybe you should go back up to bed." He told her. Ichigo shook her head and looked down._

_"Shirogane-san, I—" Before Ichigo could finish her sentence her mouth was forced shut by the force of Ryou's lips pressing up against hers. Ichigo blushed profusely. He released and gave her a warm smile._

_"I love you— Ichigo." He stated firmly._

_"Shirogane…"_

-

"Shirogane-san…" Ichigo actually let out without knowing it. **Poof!** Her ears popped up. Ichigo's eyes widened. "No, no, no, no, no!" she yelled at herself and pushed her ears down. The firefly flew right off of her nose and back over the lake sitting before her. _I can't love Shirogane-san… can I? _Ichigo stared up at the stars watching over her, twinkling in their glory. Then, suddenly, she felt a warm come over her, but not mentally. She literally got warmer. She felt on her shoulders to find that a jacket had been placed over her.

"Huh?" Ichigo peered behind her to see the devil himself. His hair blew gently in the night breeze. The moon shined on him perfectly to give his blue eyes a shine. "Shirogane-san. You came for me?" Ichigo walked up to him with hope in her eyes. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Um, yeah you just forgot your jacket at the café," he looked down at her and saw her ears. He gently stroked them between his fingers; "What's up with the ears?" Ichigo's eyes began to glisten in the light at the sign of first tears. Ryou looked at her funny. Ichigo, without words, embraced him with a hug.

"Ichigo—?" he seemed appalled, but was stopped in his speech by Ichigo.

"Please don't talk…" she sniffed. He said nothing and just continued to stand there with her in his arms…

The little firefly flew over from the lake and above their heads, going into the distance…

**OWARI**

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**I love the ending to this sequel:-) Please review everyone!!!**


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